As Central America and Mexico continue
recovering from last year's Hurricane Keith, which left a grisly
trail of death and destruction, a team of NOAA
hurricane specialists and "hurricane hunters" from
the U.S. Air Force are meeting
with Caribbean weather and emergency officials this week to prepare
for the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season.

Hurricane Keith,
one of 14
named tropical storms that churned in the Atlantic in 2000,
killed 24 people --12 in Nicaragua, six in Honduras, five in
Belize, and one in Mexico. In Belize alone, the storm caused
$225 million in damages.

The annual tour, part of a United Nations
effort, enables forecasters from NOAA's
National Weather Service and Central American meteorologists
and government officials to review critical public safety issues
from improving evacuation and air traffic control procedures,
to improving hurricane forecasts and warnings.

This week, the tour will take the NOAA
specialists and aircrew from the Air Force (reserve) 53rd Weather
Reconnaissance Squadron to Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands. Max Mayfield, director of the NOAA's
National Hurricane Center and the tour's team leader, said
the outreach effort helps meet the United
Nation's World Meteorological Organization goal for better
weather forecasts across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the
western Atlantic and eastern Pacific.

"It's important to leave the confines
of our forecasting center, and the cockpit of the hurricane-hunting
aircraft to visit the danger areas and meet our teammates in
the countries we collectively serve," Mayfield said. He
added, "These are the voices on the other end of the telephone
when we make our coordination calls. Their locales are potential
sites for the next land-falling hurricane. We consult with them
before the storm to facilitate forecasting when the storm arrives."

Mayfield said the partner countries have
developed extensive procedures for sharing vital weather information.
"The United States depends on the surface and upper air
observations taken by member countries. These observations are
fed into computer numerical models to forecast the track and
intensity of a storm approaching any one of the 24 member countries
in the region."

Lixion Avila, a NOAA hurricane center forecaster,
said, "Visiting the areas near where Hurricane Keith struck
will help us gain the perspective of our colleagues who where
there." At each stop on the tour, Avila and Mayfield will
brief local officials and the media on the anticipated impacts
of this year's hurricanes on the region.

"In demonstrating our two-way relationship,
we build a strong base of support and show the value of their
observations and forecasts. We operate as a team," Mayfield
said.

The centerpiece of the tour is the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance
Squadron's Lockheed WC-130 Hercules aircraft. Lt. Col. Robert Carter, the 53rd's Weather Officer,
said, "We invite the public and the media to see the aircraft
and talk with the aircrew. These men and women are the aviators
and missions specialists who routinely penetrate into the eye
of the hurricane, gathering data about the storm's position and
intensity."

Carter added, "Our ability to meet
local air traffic controllers who coordinate and control our
flights is vital in saving time so that we may proceed were we
are needed with minimum delay."

Itinerary for the Mexico-Caribbean
Hurricane Awareness Tour

April 16-21 2001(all times local)

Arrive

Aircraft Display

Leave

Homestead ARB, Florida

May 16
9:30 a.m.

Villahermosa, Mexico

May 16
12:00 p.m.

May 16
3:00-5:00 p.m.

May 16
5:00 p.m.

Cancun, Mexico

May 16
7:30 a.m.

May 17
3:00-6:00 P.M.

May 18
9:00 a.m.

Kingston, Jamaica

May 18
12:00 p.m.

May 18
3:00-6:00 p.m.

May 19
8:00 a.m.

Aquadilla,
Puerto Rico

May 19
11:30 a.m.

May 19
12:30-7:00 p.m.

May 20
9:30 a.m.

St. Croix (U.S.V.I.)

May 20
10:30 a.m.

May 20
11:30 a.m-
4:00 p.m.

May 21
10:00 a.m.

Homestead ARB, Florida

May 21
2:00 p.m.

Note to Editors:
Additional background information is available on the National
Hurricane Center's Web site at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.